


Endless Night.

by Gina Callen (CALLEN37)



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Secrets, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10077944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CALLEN37/pseuds/Gina%20Callen
Summary: Secrets have been kept about Callen, only Hetty knew. But when the team finds out how will they react to knowing that he is... Not normal. Will they all make it through alive.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a year since the day Callen had been shot. Only a few knew his secret, those few being Hetty, her personal physician, and Sam.

Sam had not been in on the secret originally.

Hetty had insisted that no one be told as soon as she had taken the child in her care, she had impressed on him the need for secrecy, although things had happened that meant he hadn't wanted to ever break that rule she had given him.

However, after being shot in front of him and healing in a matter of hours, Sam had needed to be told. Luckily Sam, although he was in denial at first, was finally made to believe and as soon as he realized Callen would never be a threat to him or his family, he had calmed down and agreed to keep his secret.

* * *

Sam woke up, remembering what day it was and softly padded his way out to the kitchen so as not to wake his sleeping wife. He looked in on his daughter, Kamran, who was still safely tucked up in bed and pouring himself a cup of coffee, he slipped out to the porch to watch the sun rise over the city of Angels.

"You not sleeping?" Callens soft voice made him jump.

"Jesus G!" He exclaimed, "Quit doing that."

Callen smirked, "Nah, I like making you jump."

Sam rolled his eyes, "What you doing here?" he asked.

"I was passing by." Callen replied cryptically, wiping a small red stain from the side of his mouth with his tongue.

Sam sighed, "You didn't…" He did not really want to ask and he was pleased when Callen shook his head.

"You have been watching those movies again, Sam." He rolled his eyes. I already told you, it's not how it's done nowadays, not in Los Angeles anyway."

"It's been a year G, I still have trouble coming to terms with the fact that all this…" He gestured to Callen, his arm waving up and down, "... Is real."

Callen moved, so fast that if Sam had not been used to it, he would have missed it and sat beside him with a coffee in his hand, watching the sun rise.

"It is real Sam." Callen said quietly as he took a sip from his mug. "I wanted to thank you." He added, turning to look at his partner, "for trusting me and not… you know…"

"Putting a stake through your heart?" Sam offered with a grin. "No matter what you are G, first and foremost, you are my friend."

Callen nodded, "I know Sam." He swiftly drank his coffee and handed Sam the mug, "I have to go, Michelle's waking up."

Sam smiled, he was still amazed at the skills his partner had, but Callen being what he was, he was not at all surprised, he winced as he remembered how he had found out Callen's secret.

* * *

Blood, there was blood everywhere.

Sam held onto Callen as he all but screamed down the phone, begging them to send an ambulance to save his partner.

He had run down the hallway beside the gurney, surprised as the whole team came to a halt as a man stood in the way.

"I'm Callen's personal doctor, you will release him into my care now." The man said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The paramedic ran through the handover stats.

The doctor just nodded absent-mindedly, and Sam seemed to get irritated watching him.

"G's dying here! Help him!" he snapped.

The doctor gave a small smile, "Don't worry Sir, Callen will be fine."

"Matthew…" Hetty's worried voice came as the nurses wheeled Callen into a side room. "I have what we need." She handed him a large bag.

"All his stock?" Matthew asked.

"Alas, no." Hetty sighed, "There was not enough, I have had to make some withdrawals, but they are from ethically sourced supplies."

"He won't like it." Matthew replied, but took the bag, "I will get started; you should be able to take him home in a few hours."

Sam looked at the small woman confused. "A few hours? G was shot, at least five times, there is no way he's going to walk away from this."

"Go home Mr. Hanna." Hetty insisted. "Allow the doctor to do his work."

A scream echoed down the hallway.

"G?" Sam looked distraught, "They haven't sedated him?"

"Mr. Hanna… please, go home."

" _ **SAM!**_ " Callen's voice echoed down the hall.

Sam wrenched his arm away from Hetty's grasp and flew down the hall to the room his partner was in.

"G!" He went in to comfort his friend and stopped dead.

Callen was sitting up with his back to the door, shaking having just come to with visions of Sam lying bloodied and dead on the sidewalk still rolling around in his head.

"G?" Sam asked, confused.

"No, go away Sam… please…" Callen begged, "Don't come in."

Sam moved further into the room. "I thought you were dead!" his voice flooded with confusion and relief. He moved to walk around the table.

"Don't look at me!" Callen's arm moved and Sam could see a half empty blood bag in his hand.

Sam moved and Callen looked at him.

Sam gasped, "Your eyes!"

Callen looked down, ashamed. "Sam… please."

He knew what Sam was talking about, his eyes were a pale, pale blue, mostly white with a dark ring of black around them. They always looked like this when he was feeding.

"Mr. Hanna, you were told not to come in here. Now you have uncovered Mr. Callen's secret." She sighed, "What do we do with you now?"

"Hetty, please… don't kill him, don't tell the Clans, he can keep a secret." Callen begged as he put the blood bag down and wiped a stray drop from his lip.

"I aim to keep you safe, to keep your secret." Hetty said matter of factly.

"You won't tell will you Sam?" Callen all but begged, then he winced as another bullet pushed its way out of his skin and fell on the floor with a loud clang. He gasped as the pain of it rippled through his body and Sam instinctively moved to help him.

"You need pain relief." Sam said, looking up at the doctor and daring him to not help his partner.

"Drink G, you know it gets better when you drink." Matthew handed him another blood pack and Callen hungrily ripped it open, turning away from Sam, he drank it.

"You're a vampire?" Sam asked, feeling slightly stupid, "I mean… you are, aren't you? I haven't just fallen into the twilight zone or something have I?"

"I'm something Sam… not a vampire, per se, but I am something... Different"

Hetty gestured to a chair and Sam sat down heavily.

"There are many things in this world Mr. Hanna, that cannot be explained by rational means." She stated. "Mr. Callen is one of them."

"What do you mean by that and who are you?" Sam asked as he finally realized that the small woman was not a member of the hospital staff as he had first thought. Was she a relative of Callen's?

"My name is Henrietta Lange, as of an hour ago I became operations manager of the Office of Special Projects. Mr. Callen, as well as being your team leader, _is_ a special project." Hetty turned to Callen, "Finish your meal, while I explain to Mr. Hanna exactly what is going on here and why he has not fallen into the twilight zone." She finished with a slight grin.

"You two know each other." Sam said, looking over at Hetty.

She nodded, "For a long time now." she admitted. "Now, Mr. Hanna, we need to talk. I need to know if you can be Mr. Callen's secret keeper."

Sam looked over at Callen, who was now sitting with his back to his partner, one after one drained bags of blood were being deposited beside him. After a loud belch and a whispered apology, Callen sat, shoulders hunched listening as Hetty told Sam his story.

* * *

"A long time ago, a family in Romania was cursed by locals to live on the outside of their town.

A blood feud between the Callen's and the Comescu's ensued. Years passed, the feud died down till only a handful of Callen's and Comescu's remained.

Gregori Callen was hiding from a band of Comescu's when he sought shelter in a castle in Transylvania."

"And he met Dracula?" Sam asked sarcastically.

Hetty smiled slightly and shook her head. "No… he met Vlad Tepes. Also known as Vlad the Impaler and they became allies."

Sam frowned, he had heard the name somewhere before, but was not sure where.

"They did a great many things together." Hetty continued, "Many great and terrible things… and for it, they were cursed, by God. They became the first vampires."

Sam turned to Callen. "You're Gregori Callen?" He asked.

Callen shook his head, with a slight chuckle, then he turned back to Sam, who noted with shock that his eyes had returned to normal.

For a second, Callen winced and there was another thunk as yet another bullet came out of him and landed on the floor. Matthew moved to pick it up and put it with the other two.

"No. When I told you I didn't know what the G stood for, I meant it Sam, I have no idea. I didn't even know what I was until I was fifteen."

Sam looked over at Hetty, who moved to pat Callen's hand supportively.

"Mr Callen was in a bad state when I found him." Hetty explained, thinking back to the day she had finally found him.

"I had known his mother." she admitted, "I knew that her children had been taken to America for their safety, but I had been unable to locate them. Mr. Callen's older sister, Amelia, was killed, as soon as she turned 15 and came into her birthright. The Comescu's had found her and killed her."

She stopped and wiped away a tear as she remembered the morning she had found the body of Amelia Callen, drowned in Holy water in a church. "Mr. Callen was bereft of foster parents, having been thrown out of his last home as his behavior worsened and was on the streets."

"You were badly behaved?" Sam could not help but smirk at the idea.

Callen shrugged, "Hormones, I was changing, but didn't know what was happening to me."

"He was coming into his birthright." Hetty continued. "His mother, Clara was a human. His father… whomever he was, was a vampire."

"But… Callen can't be a… a vampire, I've seen him in the daylight."

Callen let out a laugh, which turned into a cough. "It's not like the movies Sam, I can go out in daylight, although I do wear sunscreen. I don't like the light too bright, however I don't burst into flames."

"Can you die?" Sam asked.

"I dunno?" Callen replied, "I haven't tried it."

Sam rolled his eyes."I mean, if you were decapitated, or had a stake through the heart?"

"I think that would pretty much kill anything Sam." Callen replied with a grin.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I suppose it would. Do you kill people G?" Sam asked.

Callen flinched and went quiet for a moment. "Not anymore." he said softly.

"You did then?" Sam asked, his eyes widening in alarm.

Hetty walked over to Callen and patted him comfortingly on his arm, "You don't have to tell him." She said.

Callen shook his head, "Full disclosure Hetty, if he's going to be in on this he should know it all."

"But the rule…"

"Sam won't tell anyone, will you Sam? Not even Michelle… it's important." He looked imploringly at Sam, who sat quietly for a moment.

"I can keep a secret from her, as long as you promise me that by doing so I am not putting her or my children in danger."

"You're not. In fact, by not telling them you will be keeping them from danger." Callen attested to him by telling him his story.

"I was a sickly child," He started, "I don't remember much. I didn't understand many people or where I was. But I remember not liking the light or being in a room with lots of people. I was shuttled from place to place. I was strong for a child and managed to hold my own. But as I got older I noticed I was different to other children. I could hear more, see better… then I noticed the blood. I could smell it, it's like chocolate, enticing. I wanted more, I wanted to taste it. The idea made me sick at first, I stopped eating food and made myself sick. I thought I was possessed. I even went to a church and tried to get a priest to exorcise me. He laughed at me. I got angry and he got mad at me for mocking God. I could see the blood pounding through his veins. I don't remember what happened, but I found myself at the back of the church, his body… it was nearby… I had his blood in my mouth, I could taste him, taste the alcohol he had been drinking and taste his secrets. They were awful. I felt awful… but even as I realized what I had done, in his case I knew it was a good thing as he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else. But I ran, I was scared."

"You didn't go to the police?"

Callen laughed sadly, "Yeah, I could see that, 'Officer I just killed a Priest, but it's ok, he was a pedophile as I could taste his memories.' They would have locked me up in a mental institution for the rest of my life. Besides, I was a teenager, alone, on the streets and scared."

"You ran?"

"He ran." Hetty interjected. "I found him."


	2. Chapter 2

Callen ran and ran, the dead eyes of the priest staring up at him.

He looked at the people lining the streets in the dark, he was certain they were all looking at him accusingly. He was terrified that they could see the monster that was inside him and that they would kill him for it.

A hooker lit up a cigarette and called out to the scared boy she could see skulking just inside the shadows.

" _Hey, Kid!_ " She called.

He looked over at her, his gaze focusing on the blood pumping in her jugular vein. Her heartbeats singing to him like some grotesque choir.

He stopped and took a few steps towards her as his hunger clawed at his gut.

"You wanna have a good time?" She asked, wondering if the kid actually had any money.

He focused on her neck, his hand starting to reach for her… " _No!_ " he shook his head and stumbled back.

"Come on baby, I don't bite…" She laughed at him.

He ran off, disgusted with himself at the urge he had to rip out her throat.

Finally, he hid at the back end of a dark alley, shaking, partly from the cold of the night and partly from fear; not the fear of what was in the dark but the fear of what he was thinking of doing to others.

_What was he?_

_Was he evil?_

_Was he a killer?_

_Why could he not control these urges he was getting?_

He did not know, all he knew was that it was driving him crazy.

He could never go back to social services; after all, if they put him back in an orphanage or group home, he could hurt the other children and he could never live with that.

No, the safest thing to do was to stay on the streets like the monster he had become.

So, there he was, hiding in the dark alleyways and empty buildings, stealing food where he could, and to his disgust, finding rats and drinking their blood.

He had been physically sick the first time he had done it.

The rat in question had been in the same room he was in, he had not managed to steal any food for a few days and he could see the fast beating heart of the rat. He swore he could hear the blood rushing through its veins and the sound was all he could hear until he could stand it no more. He reached out and grabbed the rat; in one foul swoop he ripped out its throat and was drinking the blood before he realized what was happening.

As soon as it sunk in what he had done, he threw, the spent body of the rat as far as he could and sobbed with horror at his actions.

It was in this same alley, filthy, and terrified that she finally found him.

* * *

She had been looking for him since word had come to her that he had gone missing from his last foster placement.

She had followed the clues: the dead priest, the rise in small petty thefts in the area and the reports of an abnormal number of dead rodents and had come to the conclusion that the boy had to be in the area.

Night after night she had searched, knowing that he would be hiding during the day, until one night she found him.

Walking into an alley, she noticed the lights had all been smashed. She hoped that this was the right area. As she took a few steps in, she heard heavy footsteps behind her, slipping her hand into her pocket, she grasped her derringer as a hand grabbed her around the throat.

"Well, you ain't no beauty queen, but ya got a hole and you'll do." A mean voice slurred.

She grimaced at the smell of stale alcohol on his breath and for a second realized she could not move. She was surprised that she did not feel as afraid as she thought she would be in this situation. She smiled slightly as she thought about how she was going to make this man pay for his treatment of her.

"Get off her!" Callen's voice growled out of the darkness.

"Who's there? I ain't fussy we can share her." The man slurred again.

"Leave her alone." Callen stayed in the shadows. Something about him wanted to protect the woman.

The man pulled out a knife, "Show yourself."

Callen stepped forward and the man laughed, "You're a child, you can't do anything to hurt me."

In that instant Callen moved. He moved faster than he had ever moved before, but to him it seemed incredibly slow. He disarmed the man and with a strength that belied his size, hurled him down the other end of the alleyway where the man's body landed with a sickening crunch.

" _Run, now._ " Callen warned Hetty, worried that he would hurt the older woman.

"I have no need to run, I assure you Mr. Callen." Hetty said, looking at the boy who had moved back into the shadows.

"Who are you?" He asked, wanting to move closer, but afraid to in case he hurt her. "... And how do you know me?"

"I knew your mother; I know what you are. I am here to help." She told him honestly.

"I can't be helped; I'm evil."

Hetty shook her head, "You are unique, even amongst your kind, but you are not in any way evil."

"Can you make it stop?" He asked the pleading in his voice making him sound younger than his fifteen years.

Hetty smiled and held out her hand. "We can make it so you can control it and be normal again." She told him.

Tentatively, Callen took first one, then another step towards her.

"Trust me Mr. Callen, I will not hurt you." Hetty said, looking into his eyes. They were mostly white with a ring of darkness around them. "But first you need sustenance."

Callen shook his head, "Food makes me sick." He admitted.

"I have exactly what you need." Hetty told him, and without knowing what it was that made him trust her, he followed.

* * *

Over the next few months, Callen learned to trust Hetty and Duke; her friend who lived in her home as a bodyguard and mentor to Callen. Duke too was a vampire.

However, he was a full vampire and was unable to stand the daylight, so in the evenings and at night, he taught Callen all he needed to know about keeping his urges under control and how to source his blood without killing.

Hetty told him as much as she knew about his mother, and sadly her death at the hands of the Comescu's. However, even she had no idea what the G in his name stood for so was unable to tell him, nor the name of his father only that she assumed his father was a vampire.

Callen studied under Duke and learned all he needed to reintegrate into society and keep his secret. After two years of studying and learning under Duke, he was finally ready to go to college.

Although he came back and visited Hetty as often as he could, he took jobs working for the government in any branch he could get. However, his refusal to work with a partner or settle down made it easy for him to transfer from the DEA to the CIA, and finally he settled working for Lara Macy at NCIS in the Office of Special Projects.

There he had met Sam and even though he had managed to keep his secret, Sam had pushed past his defenses and allowed him to be a part of his family. Until the day that Sam had found out about him.

* * *

It was the day after Callen had been shot and Sam walked back into the room.

"I didn't think you'd be coming back." Callen said matter of factly.

He was still tired from the regenerating, he had done the night before and felt guilty that Sam had stumbled onto his secret like that. He could not look Sam in the eye, although he did check his hand for a weapon.

Hetty sat silently in the chair, watching as her boy and his partner sized each other up.

"So…" Sam said quietly as he took a step in the door and let it close with a quiet click. "I didn't dream it, you really are a… a…"

"A monster?" Callen said as his head dropped down.

"I was gonna say a _Vampire_." Sam corrected.

"I'm a monster Sam." Callen insisted, "You saw me yesterday, you saw what I did."

"The people we put away are monsters G, I saw a monster pull the trigger on my partner. I saw you nearly die… _you_ are _not_ a monster G. You are my friend, my brother, my partner." Sam said sincerely.

"If anyone else knew, they'd kill me Sam." Callen told him, still waiting for him to turn away and leave him to the mob.

"They'd have to get through me first." Sam vowed.

"You can't tell Michelle, or the kids." Callen warned, "It would put them in danger."

Sam nodded, that he understood. "I won't put my family in danger, but I also know you won't hurt them."

"I will protect them with my life." Callen vowed, and Sam smiled and nodded in response.

"Knew you would G."

"You can't tell the others." Callen added the urgency in his voice evident.

"G, I promise your secret is safe with me." Sam vowed as his partner finally looked him in the eye.

Hetty smiled, things were going to be alright… or so she hoped.


	3. Chapter 3

Ten years they had been partners, eight years since Sam had found out his secret.

He had kept it all this time.

Not saying a word when Dom had died, not even asking if he could do anything when Mo died; this more than anything had surprised Callen.

He could not have brought him back from the dead and he had never _'turned'_ anyone. He had hated watching Sam go through that pain of losing a friend like that. However, he had been pleased that at no time had Sam put the pressure on him to save someone or be anything other than his partner and friend.

Then they had a mole to deal with on top of everything else and had lost Granger.

Callen had battled with himself for days as they had watched the Assistant Director slowly succumb to his illness. The looks from Sam, who, although he did not ask, he had wondered if Callen was planning on turning Granger to save him. Callen had spent nights talking to Hetty about it, and his reluctance to do so.

Eventually, although no one but Hetty knew it, Callen had caved.

He had gone to Granger in the middle of the night, the day before he died.

Granger had been lying on the bed, he knew his life was at an end and he was at peace with himself. He had been resting, but he opened his eyes as he sensed someone in his room. He was not surprised to find Hetty sitting in the chair by his bed, but he was surprised to see Callen.

"Callen…?" He rasped, he was surprised at the guilty look on the younger man's face.

"Granger… I…" Callen found he could not even voice it.

"I'm waiting Callen, not got much time left here." He said with a small grin.

"I could give you more." Callen offered. He let the words hang in the air.

"You a doctor now?" Granger asked as he pressed the button that raised his head.

Callen stepped back and Hetty placed a hand on his arm.

"No… but I can help you… if you want… I'm a vampire." Callen said looking ashamed.

"Not really in the mood for games Callen." Granger sighed.

"I assure you, Mr. Callen isn't lying." Hetty said as Callen turned away to look out of the window. "It's also an offer he doesn't make lightly. Mr Callen has kept the fact of his… 'uniqueness', a secret for a long time."

"You're saying he could save me by changing me into a monster?" Granger asked.

Callen's shoulders tightened, however, he said nothing; this was too important, Granger was too important to them.

"Not a monster Owen." Hetty admonished him, noting the way Callen stared out of the window trying to compose himself.

"It's not like the movies Granger, this is real." Callen stated matter of factly. "If I change you, you'll live like this forever, but there is a chance that unlike me, you won't be able to stand the sunlight."

Callen turned and walked over to the bed, "We all care about you and if this is what I need to do to save you, I will."

"No." Granger said, looking Callen in the eye. "You are a good… person… Callen, but… I have known for a long time that I was ill; I have made my peace…" He coughed and Callen handed him a glass of water, "Tell the others... I'm alright with this; it's my time."

"You're sure?" Callen asked, feeling some of the pressure ease off him that he did not have to turn someone else into the type of monster… person that he was.

Granger gave a pained smile and nodded, "You keep this team together, watch out for Kensi… tell them… they are a good team… you have this thing, use it. Keep them safe." He trailed off as tiredness overtook him and he fell into a deep sleep.

"I'll keep her safe." Callen promised as he turned away.

Granger passed on a few days later. Although Callen never told anyone of his offer, he did tell Sam that he had been to see Granger and that he had promised to keep the team safe to the best of his ability. It was a promise he intended to keep.

* * *

It was a promise he had kept. Until now; Kensi was missing and it was grating at the team.

It was not the first time she had disappeared.

They had got her back after CIA Officer Ferris had threatened to cut off her leg, and Deeks had killed him.

Callen, not telling her that he had found and visited the missing member of the group, Sabatino a few days later, and had scared him so badly that he was unable to leave his safe house and as such would never harm her again.

She had managed to get back to work, back into the team and had even gone so far as to marry Deeks.

Her life had finally become perfect when someone had kidnapped Kensi.

Deeks was going mad trying to find her and as far as anyone else knew, neither Deeks, nor any other member of the team had discovered that Kensi was pregnant.

Callen however, had smiled when he had heard the small, second heartbeat within her. To be honest, he had no idea if she even knew, but he was not going to tell her and 'out' himself to the team. Also, he did not want them to worry more than they already were.

However, he had not slept himself in the three days she had been missing, as he was worried for his Agent and her family. He had scoured the streets looking for her, visiting every low life dive and snitch he had, but there was nothing.

* * *

Sam sat in the predawn light, having his early morning coffee while the rest of his family slept.

He enjoyed the early peace and quiet before Kamran got up for school and Michelle woke to start her day. He was worried about Kensi; they had heard nothing and he knew that from talking with Deeks last night, that he was beside himself with worry for his wife.

He felt a shift in the atmosphere, which usually accompanied Callen's early morning visits. He smirked as he felt his partner move behind him, not disguising the finesse and speed which he usually hid around other people.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Sam asked quietly.

"I've been searching all night." Callen admitted, "I can't find her anywhere. I have asked all my contacts, but no one's heard anything.

"Deeks called me, he's going crazy with worry, he may even beat you into work to help find her." He told Callen.

Sam looked at his partner as Callen sighed and sat next to him on the back step of the porch.

"Have you even slept?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine." Callen snapped.

Sam smirked, "You may be superhuman, but even you need sleep sometimes."

"I need to find Kensi." Callen said.

"Have you eaten?" Sam asked, Callen was looking paler than normal.

"I will…" Callen sighed, "I'm heading into work soon, I want to check Kaleidoscope again, see if the wonder twins have picked anything up before I eat."

"G, you need food… I mean… _your_ sort of food." Sam said, turning to find out that yet again he was talking to thin air. "Damn you G." He sighed as he got up and walked into the house to rinse his cup and head in to watch his partner's back firing off a quick text to Hetty on the way in.

* * *

The mission was empty when Callen entered.

He sat at his desk for a few moments, Sam was right, he really needed something to eat.

His head was spinning, but he knew there was nothing here. Suddenly he heard something, a small sniffle, then a heartbeat. There was someone there and he missed it.

He moved closer, to follow the noise, damping down the sound of the blood rushing through whoever it was he was hearing, focusing instead on the muffled sounds of someone crying.

He opened the door and slipped in. Deeks was sitting with his back to the steps, his shoulders shaking as he silently cried.

"Deeks?" Callen called softly so as not to startle him.

Deeks swiped his eyes and composed himself quickly before turning. "You found something Callen?" He asked.

Callen shook his head, "Still looking Deeks, but I'm surprised to find you here so early."

Deeks stood up and walked towards his team leader, "My wife is missing, where would you expect me to be?" He carried on walking past Callen and heading to the small kitchen area to make himself a coffee. "You're here early though?" he pointed out.

Callen grabbed a mug and poured himself a coffee as well. "Your wife is missing, where would you expect me to be?" He said sadly as he headed up to Ops to see if the night staff had found anything.

A few minutes later, looking much like his normal self, Deeks joined him.

"Anything?" Deeks asked not daring to get his hopes up.

Callen shook his head, "Nothing, whoever has her is a pro. I know we thought it was a friend of Sullivan's, but… I don't know… something seems off."

"Sir…" The night technician turned to Callen, "I have an incoming call, asking for you… by name… and… well, Sir, they mentioned Agent Blye."

"Put it on speaker." Callen snapped as he and Deeks turned to the speaker on the table in the middle of the room.

"Callen… Callen… been a long time my friend…." The voice reverberated around the room and Callen paled slightly.

"I'm not your friend." Callen snarled.

"But I _have_ your friend…" The man started, and a voice from the background that they both knew well called out.

"Do not listen to him Mr. Callen, Ms Blye is alright and here with me."

"Hetty?"

"Now you get to choose… what do you value more? You know what I want and you know where I will be." He said, and the line went dead.

Deeks turned and stared at Callen, "You know who that is." It was an accusation and Callen knew it. "Is my wife and Hetty being held because of another blood feud?" He asked.

Callen turned without a word, walked out of Ops and jogged slowly down the stairs.

" _ **CALLEN!**_ " Deeks yelled as he followed him.

* * *

Sam walked in to find his partner taking a set of car keys from his draw, looking pale and grim.

"What have we got?" He asked.

Callen shook his head, unwilling to say anything yet. The man who had Kensi and Hetty was ruthless and like him a vampire. He knew that everything he was hiding could come crashing down around him.

"He knows who has Kensi and Hetty." Deeks said from behind him.

"Hetty too?" Sam asked as Callen grabbed his wallet and put his gun in his back holster.

"Stay here Sam." Callen growled.

"You haven't eaten have you?" Sam asked quietly, knowing that whoever it was, Callen would need his full strength to deal with him.

"Later, Sam, he has Hetty and Kensi, I can't let him get away with this. It has to end."

Deeks looked on in surprise as Sam watched Callen leave, not insisting he went with him.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Deeks asked in surprise.

"Nope, but we _are_ going to follow at a distance." Sam grabbed his keys and headed for the door, "Come on…" He urged Deeks, nodding to Nell and Eric as he walked by.

* * *

Callen drove, maneuvering through the morning rush hour traffic as if it was not there.

All the while, his mind was wandering, How could he have found him?

He had had no contact with the man since he was eighteen and that had not gone too well. He had made it clear that they would have nothing at all to do with each other ever again, so what could he possibly want from him now? And why take Hetty and Kensi to get his attention?


	4. Chapter 4

At eighteen Callen met his first love.

He was in college, close enough that he could stay with Hetty for protection, but far enough away that he was enjoying his first taste of freedom when he met her.

Her name was Suzanne.

Suzy was the same age as him and was studying American History. He had bumped into her just after he had made a withdrawal from a blood bank that catered to his kind. She was swaying slightly as she walked out of the blood donation center and bumped into him.

"Sorry." She apologized and smiled as she looked up at him.

She was short, with red hair and deep green eyes and he felt his heart jump.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to." He smiled, "You just been inside?" He asked.

She nodded, "Gotta do my bit to help those in need." She swayed on the spot for a moment, "Sorry giving blood makes me feel light headed, how about you? I'm going to get a coffee, I need the sugar jump would you like to join me?"

He nodded and followed her, he sat for hours listening to her talk. After finding they were doing a few of the same courses they decided to study together.

Within a week he was hooked on her.

They ate together during the day and studied together in the evenings until Callen would have to leave to go home. A few times, Suzy had suggested Callen stay over so they could study longer, but Callen would turn her down. A few times she had invited him to church with her. He had made excuses every time, having read about what happened to vampires in a church he was in no hurry to test the theory, but he had made a mental note to as Hetty and Duke about it when he had a free moment.

Hetty had warned him about getting too close to a woman or anyone for that matter until he had completely finished his training, but being a teenage boy, his hormones more than once overruled his head.

This was one of those occasions.

* * *

Hetty had had to go out of town on business, Duke went to protect her and Callen had assured her that he had a lot of studying to do and would stay home, behind locked gates and behave himself. With his behavior with Hetty, so far, and her having no knowledge of the existence of Suzy, she agreed, thinking that the trust she would gain from this would be to their mutual advantage.

Hetty and Duke had not been gone an hour before Callen packed a bag and left the house.

He pulled up outside her apartment and jogged up the stairs, within seconds she had grabbed him by the collar and kissing him, pulled him into the apartment, kicking the door shut as she did so.

Callen had never felt anything like it, he could not get enough of her, then just as he was getting more into it, he smelled it, blood… her blood, and pheromones. His focus shifted to the blood rushing at speed through her veins and his fangs grew. In his heart, he knew that it would just take a moment. One bite and she would be his forever.

His hunger grew, his breath deepened and his pulse quickened as a roaring noise filled his ears.

He was jolted out of his trance as she moaned.

" _No!_ " He groaned and pushed her away.

"Callen?" She asked, confused by his sudden change of heart.

He would not look at her, "I… I have to go." He said, quickly grabbing his bag and running out of the building.

" _CALLEN WAIT!_ " Suzy called behind him, upset and confused as he ran.

* * *

The door shut with a slam as Callen arrived back at the house.

"Mr. Callen?" Hetty called as she stepped out of her office.

Callen stopped with surprise, "I thought you were going away?" He snapped as he pulled himself to a halt at the foot of the large staircase.

"I thought you were staying home." She countered. "Where were you?" She noted that his eyes were still lighter than normal and he looked agitated.

Callen shook his head, "Out… it doesn't matter now." He told her sadly.

"Trust is a two way street Mr. Callen." Hetty prodded, wondering if he had just been to the blood bank or had he slipped and attacked someone.

Callen dropped his bag at the foot of the stairs and turned, walking into the lounge and sank down on the chair with his head in his hands.

"I should be locked up Hetty; I'm a monster." He said as a lone tear fell down his face. "Why am I like this?" He dropped into a dejected heap at the bottom of the stairs, his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Hetty asked softly.

"I met a girl." Callen all but whispered.

Hetty waited as her boy composed himself.

"I kissed her…" He admitted.

Hetty held her breath, had he fallen in love? Was there a child, another hybrid?

" _And…_ " She prompted.

" _And I nearly killed her_!" Callen hissed, annoyed, but trying to reign in the monster he thought he was. He started pacing and shook his head, "I shouldn't be here Hetty; I could hurt you… I'm a monster…"

He took off, running faster than Hetty could see; before she was able to call Duke, Callen was gone.

* * *

The hours seemed to fly by as Callen moved through Los Angeles, keeping to the shadows, hiding for most of the day like the monster he was. Until the sun went down again.

He stayed away from large groups of people, and eventually found himself walking along the coastline.

" _Yo_ _u..._ are a hard person to find, Grisha." A deep voice came from behind him as he walked along the sand.

Callen jumped; he never heard anyone approaching him.

Moving at lightning speed, he went to get away and stopped as a hand clasped him on the shoulder, and with a yank, slammed him down on the sand on his butt.

"Who are you?" Callen asked, panting in surprise.

The older man smiled, "Someone who can answer your questions." He replied, "Why were you running Grisha? You should never run; you are superior to these people."

"Grisha?" Callen asked, surprised.

"Grisha, it is your name." The man said as he sat beside the boy on the sand.

"No, it's not, it's G or Callen." He shook his head.

"And the G stands for Grisha."

"That's not even a real name." Callen scoffed, looking at the older man with distrust.

"It is the name your mother and I picked for you, a name from the old country."

"The old country?" The distrust disappeared, to be replaced by curiosity.

"Where you were born, Russia." The man said.

Callen laughed, "I'm not Russian… I'm American."

The man handed Callen a piece of paper, Callen opened it and looked down.

"Who are you?" He asked as he looked up from the birth certificate in his hand.

"My name is Garrison, I am your father." He said simply.

Callen shifted, the sand helping him move more easily, "Are you…? Are you, like me… a… a… monster?" He whispered the last word in fear.

Garrison smiled and allowed his fangs to show. "I am a full Vampire, you my son are unique, you are one of the few who has the power to walk unfettered in the daylight and will age as a normal human, but with differences."

"I don't want them. I don't want to be a monster, I want to be like everyone else." Callen closed his eyes against the sudden pain in his chest.

"Do not deny what you are son, join me. Let me teach you about your heritage." Garrison hoped that his son would join him.

Clara, as soon as she had discovered his true nature, had taken her children and run with them.

Amy had died as soon as she had hit puberty, unable to understand what was happening to her, she had left the orphanage that Garrison had tracked her down to; he had intended to collect her that night, but she had gone out in the daylight. The Comescus had found her and realized that as a Daywalker she could be a threat to humans, they had tortured her and drowned her in Holy Water. When Garrison had found her body the next night and had wept for his daughter and his lost chance to conquer The Clan.

However, his son… his precious son had been found, he had survived puberty and he too was a Daywalker! He knew that if he could get his son to join him, they could be unstoppable.

Callen on his part was ecstatic, he had found his father, his family.

He felt himself being swayed by Garrison's words and agreed to join him. At least if he went to live with his father, Hetty would be safe from him if he accidentally slipped and attacked her, just like he had nearly done with Suzy.

Yes, this was the safest option for all. He decided.

* * *

A month later, he knew he had made a mistake.

Garrison was not the father he had imagined growing up, Garrison was a monster. A monster who was his father. A killer who wanted his son to be just like him.

However, Callen had refused to kill.

Garrison was getting to the end of his patience with the boy.

He had pulled him out of school, insisting he stay with him. There was no contact with anyone from his past and Garrison wanted to use him as a pawn to raise himself up in the ranks of the old Clans.

With his son as a Daywalker, he could do things that no other vampire was able to, but still Callen refused to kill.

Then one night, Garrison returned to their opulent apartment with a gift for his son.

"Son!" Garrison called as he threw the unconscious body of a woman on his son's bed.

"I'm in the library, I think I've found it!" Callen called excited.

Garrison smiled evilly, he had set his son the task of finding a way to increase their power.

"You have?" He replied, walking away from the woman without so much as a backward glance and walking to the library.

Callen looked up, his eyes sparkling, but his body exhausted. He had refused to drink blood from a person and Garrison would not hear of him drinking donated blood, so apart from normal food, Callen was not feeding at all.

"Does this mean you will feed now?" Garrison asked, his voice feigning concern.

"Soon I may not need to." Callen replied.

Garrison looked surprised; a vampire that was so strong he did not need to feed? That would be a formidable tool in his plan.

"There are these two goblets, if we can find them, they will be just what I'm looking for." Callen told his father. He had seen one of them, Hetty had one in her private collection, all he needed was to ask her and find the other.

"What do we need to do with them?" Garrison asked.

Callen looked up, "If we find both, and get the scroll that has the ritual on it, it can cure us." He smiled.

" _Cure..._ _u_ _s…?_ " Garrison snarled, anger building up through his system ready to explode. " _ **Cure us!**_ We do not need ' _curing'_ , this was not what you were tasked to do."

He kept his voice low and steady, "You are too attached to these mortals; you need to learn that they are nothing but food. Now come." He ordered as he grabbed his teenage son by the scruff of the neck and took him towards his room.

"What's...?" Callen started to ask as the door opened and he saw a scrambling movement in his darkened room.

"You need to feed, I got you food." Garrison smiled, "You may play with your food before you eat it, but I do not want anything alive when you are finished. However, I took great care to find this; this one I hear is just right for you."

Callen looked confused, "Just right for me?"

The girl in the corner raised her head and a pair of familiar terrified green eyes looked at him, "Callen?"

"Suzy? _No…_ please, let her go!" Callen begged his father.

"You marked her, she is yours." Garrison said, pointing to an imperceptible mark on her jugular vein where Callen's teeth had grazed her.

Callen shook his head, "No!" He stepped back from her.

"You've marked her boy; she's now dead anyway. If you don't kill her, another will."

"Callen please… just let me go." Suzy begged.

Garrison moved swiftly behind her, and with a flick of his hand, he scratched her so large drops of blood seeped out and dripped down her neck, she moaned with fear as she was unable to move.

Having not fed for weeks, Callen's hunger pounded in his ears along with the fast beating heart of Suzy as the blood trickled down her neck to her shoulder. His eyes paled and he felt his fangs grow. For a second, he lost his balance and grabbed hold of the back of a nearby chair.

"You are hungry son; you must feed." Garrison coaxed him his voice reaching Callen in soothing waves.

"No…!" Callen groaned as he shook his head, turning away in shame from Suzy, unwilling to let her see the monster he was. " _I'm so hungry…_ " He sighed and swayed as he smelled her blood.

"Feed!" Garrison said, his voice so enticing that Callen could not help but turn. "Feed, you need it."

"No…" Callen shook his head, but without his realizing, his body turned and took a few involuntary steps towards the terrified girl.

"Sleep." Garrison said to the girl and laid her down as she succumbed to his will and closed her eyes.

He angled her head so her neck was exposed.

"Feed, my son."

His voice seemed to reverberate around the room and before Callen knew it, he was standing beside the hypnotized girl, his finger lightly tracing her jugular vein.

Unable to stop himself, Callen stepped forward, his eyes mesmerized at the sight of the blood pounding in her veins. "So… hungry…." He sighed, then without thought, he ripped into her neck and drained away her life force.

He could not stop himself, he could see her life draining away, tasting all her hopes and dreams as they drained from her in an instant.

By the time he stepped back from the shell of what had been his first love, he was in tears.

Garrison was smiling at him. "You did well, you feel it don't you, the power?" He placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "And you want to give this up to be... _mortal_?" He asked, sneering the last word as if it were an anathema to him.

Callen was stunned. "No… no…" He shook his head in horror.

Garrison smiled. He had won.

Callen was still shaking his head, "I will never be the monster you are. Never!"

"Too late," Garrison laughed.

He wrenched himself away from his father's grasp, "I can't live like this; they are not food, they are people. They have lives, hopes, dreams. We have no right to take that away from them."

He looked down at Suzy's body, remorse filling his soul, "Never will I bite anyone again." He vowed, "I am **_not_** your son." He snapped and jumped out of the window.

* * *

That had been the last time he had spoken to his father, he knew his first name but he would never use it.

He had kept looking for the goblets that he had read about to cure him.

Hetty had never asked about the month he was away, eventually Callen had told her about his father, but refused to say anything more, save for the fact that he would never feed from a human, nor would he ever fall in love; for someone like him it was too dangerous to contemplate.

Hetty found it sad that her boy would never feel loved, but she hoped that at least he would learn to trust and care one day and that she hoped he would find the cure he so desperately sought.


	5. Chapter 5

The old man put the phone down with a satisfied smirk as he looked at the two women in front of him, one looking angry and one looking confused.

This man obviously knew Callen, and even though Kensi had no idea how she had gotten in this position, she was not going to let him hurt her team leader and friend.

"Who are you?" Kensi asked. Although she felt ill, she was not injured and was not going to show the man any weakness.

"Why not leave him be Garrison?" Hetty asked sadly, taking the man's attention away from the younger woman. "He's no threat to you."

"You know who this is?" Kensi said to Hetty, as her eyes widened in surprise.

Hetty looked at Kensi for a second and then turned her attention back to the older man, who was smirking at the diminutive operations manager.

"Garrison, please." Hetty begged.

Kensi looked at them both in shock. It was obvious to her that Hetty knew who this man was and that for some reason, he was targeting Callen. She waited as another wave of nausea went through her and stifled a groan.

Garrison turned with a small smile, "Ms Blye…" He walked over to a table and walked back with a bottle of water and some saltines. "If I untie you and give you these will you promise to behave?" He moved faster than she had expected, "After all, we wouldn't want the little one to suffer now would we?"

"The little one? _What?!_ " Kensi asked, confused.

"Don't try to hide it, I can hear its heartbeat from here. You must know by now that you are expecting a child?"

"I'm… pregnant?" Kensi asked shocked. "I mean… I'm _not_ pregnant, and what do you mean you can hear _its_ heartbeat?"

Garrison smiled, his eyes seemed to glow slightly for a moment, "It does not matter how, just that I can, and you are pregnant. Now if you want to become a mother, I suggest you sit, eat your saltines and drink your water and don't attempt anything foolish." He turned and walked out of the room, not caring that neither woman was restrained in any way.

Kensi blanched; she and Deeks had been trying for a child, but she had only suspected that she might be pregnant for a few days, nothing had been confirmed.

* * *

Hetty looked over at her as Garrison walked out of the room. "So congratulations are in order my dear." She said.

"I thought I might be, but nothing is confirmed." Kensi replied, "But I may just have a bug."

Hetty smiled sadly, "If Garrison says you are pregnant, rest assured, you are."

"Who is he?" Kensi asked earnestly, "You know him and Callen knows him. Is he a Comescu?" She asked, worried for her friend.

Hetty shook her head, "No… no Garrison is not a Comescu. Yes, Mr. Callen has mentioned him in the past."

"So who is he and what does he want with Callen?" She nibbled on a saltine and had to admit she was feeling better.

"I don't think we need to worry about this right now." Hetty replied, "I would assume that as we are here as bait, Garrison will not harm us."

"What is it he's after? I mean, if he's not Comescu who is he?" Kensi asked, hoping her nausea would fade so they could find a way out of there.

Before Hetty could reply, there was a sound as Callen entered from a door at the far end.

"Callen!" Kensi warned, "It's a trap, there's a man, he's..."

"Where is he?" Callen interrupted as he moved quickly across the room to check on them both, "Did he…?" He asked Hetty softly so as not to warn Kensi to what his father was.

"We are unharmed." Hetty said, looking over at Kensi and moving slightly so Callen could see her neck.

"Kensi…?"

"They are fine." Hetty said under her breath.

"You know?" Callen asked.

"Garrison." Hetty replied.

Callen sighed, nodded and handed Kensi his phone, "Take Hetty and go. Call Deeks and get away from here."

A gravely voice came from behind him and Callen stiffened in fear. "I don't think so Grisha. Until I get what I want they will not be going anywhere."

"I don't have it." Callen replied, "It was stolen."

Garrison laughed, "You wouldn't be that careless, you know what it is… what it does. I doubt that since you found it you have left it unguarded."

"Why do you want it, then?" Callen snapped, putting himself between the man and his friends.

"I'm tired Grisha, I need to stop."

Callen took a step towards him, "You want to stop? Can we stop?" he asked, his voice full of hope.

"If you have the goblet. It can cure me; then I can finish out my life." Garrison said.

"Mr. Callen?" Hetty called, "Don't be fooled by his words; you know how he has played you in the past."

Callen stopped and looked over at Hetty, "But Hetty, if it's true… really true, I could be free of this curse."

"I have one…" Garrison admitted, "But I need the other."

Callen swayed as if succumbing to his words, moving slightly towards the door.

"Don't listen to him..."Hetty started, but stopped when Garrison moved like a blur across the room and wrapped a thin hand around Hetty's throat.

"Stop!" Callen exclaimed, "I have it, you can have it… let them go."

"Not until you bring it." Garrison snarled, "I have no reason to trust you."

"I have even less reason to trust you." Callen snapped back. "You think I would go and leave you alone with them?"

* * *

"Well, I just think, as you're outnumbered, you should let our boss and my wife go and put up ya hands." Deeks said as he and Sam appeared with their guns drawn.

"You brought them with you?" Garrison looked surprised, but did not let go of Hetty's throat, however, hitting a remote in his pocket, all the doors slammed shut and they heard the locks engage.

"No… I… Sam, don't." Callen begged as Sam held the old man at gunpoint.

"I will kill them all." Garrison said, not caring that he was outnumbered.

Sam and Deeks smirked; surely this guy knew he was outnumbered.

As Sam looked over at Callen, he was confused by the look of worry on his face.

"Let them go Garrison. They don't need to be a part of this." Callen said, moving as if to protect Sam and Deeks.

"I got him G." Sam said with confidence, but was surprised by the shake of Callen's head.

Garrison reached into his coat and pulled out the goblet holding it precariously in his hand. "You pick Moy syn, your friends or the goblet."

"Don't waste your ammo, Sam." Callen said as he stepped between them, looking worriedly at the goblet in Garrison's hand.

"If you're serious about the cure Garrison, you don't want that lost any more than I do." Callen countered, taking a step closer to him.

"We can take him down G." Sam whispered.

Garrison looked at the African American and laughed. "They don't know?" He jiggled the goblet and Callen's eyes fixed on it desperately. "All these years and they don't know?"

Sam turned to Callen, "He's one of… _them_?" He asked.

With a barely perceptible nod, Callen took another step closer to Garrison as Sam lowered his gun and stepped back.

"So…" Garrison raised an eyebrow in surprise, "They _do_ know?"

Deeks had maneuvered himself around so he stood between Garrison and Kensi.

"Well, isn't this precious." Garrison threw his head back and laughed. "They are all willing to die for you and you won't do the same for them. Do they know you're a killer?"

Callen stepped back.

"G's no killer, I don't know who you think you are but he's a good man." Sam said defending his partner.

"No killer?" Garrison laughed, "He's a monster, he told me so himself."

Callen looked down, ashamed; yes, Sam knew what he was and he was able to handle it, but the others? If _they_ found out, he could kiss his life here goodbye, if they did not kill him first.

"Let them go; you don't need to bring them into it." Callen said, quietly knowing that Garrison could hear him perfectly.

"Why not?" Garrison looked at him, his voice softer, "Why shouldn't they know who you are? You need to leave this life, it's time to come home son."

Callen shook his head, "No, I'm not like you." He sighed.

"Not like me?" Garrison raised his voice again in derision, "Well, you certainly are not like them!"

Callen looked around as Deeks and Kensi looked on with confusion, whereas both Hetty and Sam looked worried and sad.

Garrison finally let go of Hetty and pushed her into the path of Sam and Deeks. Sam's large arms saving her from a fall.

"Sun's coming up son. This door won't open for another 12 hours." Garrison said, looking over at them. "I'm set for food, what about you?"

"They are not food." Callen snarled, deliberately putting himself between them and Garrison.

* * *

Garrison moved and sat languidly in a chair, taking the goblet and placing it on a small side table. He took out a glass bottle from a cabinet beside the chair, and poured some of its contents into the goblet.

"I find it mixes well." Garrison sighed as he took a sip, "Can you smell it, don't you want a taste?"

Callen stepped back, finding Sam and Hetty standing by his side.

"Did you eat?" Sam asked softly, knowing that Kensi and Deeks could not hear him.

Callen shook his head. "I'm fine Sam." He lied.

He could smell the blood and he felt the cravings pull at him. However, it was not fresh, so he was able to control it.

Garrison allowed a drop of blood to slip down the side of his mouth, "You know if we could get the other goblet, I'm sure one of your friends wouldn't mind being a sacrifice. You see, I read the rest of that book. Someone has to die so you can be cured."

Callen's eyes were fixed on that one drop of blood as it rolled down Garrison's mouth from the corner of his lips onto his neck.

Wiping the fallen drop Garrison laughed, "You want to fight me child? Save your friends? You don't have the strength."

He held the bottle aloft, "Come, drink… it's what you want… it's what you need if you are going to save them."

He shook it a little, as Callen took an involuntary step forward. "You know that there is a lot more life in the blood of a pregnant woman… do you think that friend of yours would like to share?" He moved to stand up as Callen launched himself across the room.

* * *

Deeks and Kensi moved to help, but were stunned at the speed Callen moved.

Sam stopped them, "No… stay here. Protect Kensi."

For a second, Deeks stood there as the words he just heard sunk in, "You're pregnant?" He asked the awe evident in his voice. His face went grim and he moved her behind him. "Stay back baby." he whispered.

Kensi nodded as Garrison's words caused a trickle of cold fear in her, as they turned and watched as Callen slammed Garrison into a wall.

Garrison laughed and pushed Callen back, the force sending him flying across the room and crashing to the floor, the force of the fall knocking Callen out.

Putting his foot on his son's chest, Garrison poured the contents of the goblet onto Callen's lower lip, moving his mouth open to pour the blood inside.

"NO!" Hetty exclaimed in horror.

Sam moved to block his team mate's view of his partner as Callen slowly licked his lips and woke up.

Sam's eyes widened in horror as he realized that Callen's eyes were almost pure white. Whatever Garrison had put in that goblet was strong.

"NO!" Callen hissed, spitting out the small amount of blood that had trickled into his mouth, as he turned his face away and scrambled as far away from the others as he could get.

Garrison laughed, "I took some while she was unconscious, I did not harm her or the child. I would not take that pleasure away from you, but you have tasted it now. You can feel the blood on your lips, you cannot deny what you need."

Callen curled in a ball, his arms wrapping around his head as if begging for his head to stay facing the wall.

"G?" Sam stepped closer.

Callen turned to his partner with tears in his eyes. "Protect Kensi… kill me!" he begged.

Sam stepped back, "I can't kill you G!" He gasped.

"She would make such a pretty sacrifice don't you think?" Garrison taunted holding the goblet and wiggling it from side to side.

Beyond caring, Callen screamed "You bastard!" and flew at his father, knocking him off his chair and sending the goblet flying.

He moved to try and catch it, but we was not fast enough and he watched as it landed in front of Deeks and shattered into pieces.

" _ **No…**_ " Callen breathed as he saw his chance to become human shatter with the pieces on the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

For a moment, both Kensi and Deeks stared, not able to comprehend what they were seeing.

Callen had moved faster than they had thought a person could move as he tried to catch the goblet and fell to his knees, almost sobbing beside the shattered remains while Garrison chuckled in the background.

Sam had noticed something and moved away, unnoticed by the others, from the group.

"G, do you need to feed? You can drink from me." He offered, his voice quiet so as not to alert the others.

Callen shook his head, not looking up. No matter how bad he needed blood, he would never feed from his team.

"Can't..." He said softly, "They'll see."

"Callen?" Deeks said softly and stepped back in surprise as Callen's head shot up. He found himself looking into the unnatural eyes of his team leader.

"What _are_ you?" Deeks breathed in horror.

Callen moved back, for a second his hand caught on a broken shard of the goblet on the floor, for a second his hand bled, then just as quickly it healed itself.

He hid his hand quickly, shame filling his eyes as he turned away. "I'm a monster." He whispered.

"Nonsense, my boy." Hetty interjected, "Mr. Deeks, Mr. Callen is your team leader and friend, just as much now as he was before."

"Before he drank blood like… like a… "

"Monster?" Callen interrupted.

"Vampire." Deeks finished at the same time. "But you can't be. I mean, I've seen you out in the sun. You _live_ in Los Angeles."

"It's not always sunny here Mr. Deeks." Hetty argued.

"Yeah, but he doesn't only work the night shift, or on days when it's raining." Deeks countered. "I've seen him in the sun and I know that the sun can kill a vampire, everyone knows that!"

"Even among our kind he is unique, a hybrid, a monster," Garrison said from his spot on the floor in the corner where he had landed after Callen had thrown him.

Kensi jumped, when she had seen Garrison hit the ground his neck had been at an unusual angle and she had been certain the old man was dead.

Callen found himself moving away from both groups, human and vampire. Garrison was right, he did not belong in either world and now, without the Goblet, he had no hope of fulfilling his dream and becoming human.

"You're my partner G, my brother and uncle to my children." Sam said softly, seeing the turmoil on his partner's face."You are _not_ a monster. Like all of us you have another side, but I know you would never hurt them; you belong here, on this team with us."

" _You don't believe that_." Garrison sneered, "They are food, how long would it be before one of the children fell, cut their leg and you couldn't help yourself. You think they will think you family when you drain the children and leave their corpses to rot?"

"I… I would never!" Callen shook his head in horror at the thought of hurting Sam's children.

"It is who you are, you can't change it, you can't escape it. You will never be human. The goblet is gone and so is your chance to be mortal. Now, kill them and let's leave." Garrison snapped arrogantly. He looked at his son, his game with his food was going on too long and he knew that soon the sun would go down and he would have places to be.

Garrison stretched and got up from the floor.

Instinctively Callen moved to stand between his father and his teammates.

"Enough playing around child, The sun will go down soon and I will be leaving. If you ever want the chance to become mortal, leave with me. Maybe there is another of those trinkets around somewhere. Maybe in a few hundred years you'll get your wish. After you have tipped the balance of power and killed The Clan elders and put me in power."

"I won't do it." Callen shook his head, "I won't help you rule the clans. Not all of them want to kill." He looked worried now, the biggest rule of his life was never to talk about the Clans. He had never even mentioned this to Hetty, although he suspected she knew about them anyway.

"The Clans are soft, drinking donated blood, living without harming humans, integrating into society. It's sickening." Garrison argued. "We are directly related to the old ones, we should be ruling. Humans should _fear_ us, not trust us."

"No." Callen shook his head. "We should be co-existing. I never asked to be born a Vampire, I wasn't turned, I didn't have a choice; _y_ _ou did_." He shifted as he noted the light outside starting to fade through a small crack in one of the metal shutters on the windows. He knew as well that after all those years, Garrison could also tell the sun was setting. Whatever move his father was planning, he knew it would happen soon.

* * *

The team sat there, none of them daring to move as Callen stood between them and Garrison.

Hetty cocked her head slightly to one side as she heard a movement from outside the building, just as the last rays of the sun disappeared.

Garrison froze, a look of worry for one second crossed his face. Then he relaxed and looked over at his son, a smug smile flitted at the corner of his mouth.

"You want to keep them safe?" He asked, "Defend me. The Clans are coming. I told them to meet me here, it is time the balance of power shifted."

Callen paled and stepped back, "All..." He gulped. "All of them?"

Sam tapped Callen on the shoulder, "G, What are The Clans?" He asked.

"The rulers… these are the people who run the Governments, all the governments of the world." He shook slightly, he had heard of The Clans and what they did with hybrids like him. How they ripped them limb from limb and left them till the sun dissolved any trace of their existence or they were drowned, their heads cut off, staked and buried.

Sam looked worried, hearing the fear in Callen's voice. As long as he had known him, he had seen him concerned for others, loathing for himself and what he was but never outright fear and this unnerved him.

The metal door that had automatically locked earlier when the sun had come up unlocked with a loud clang.

Before anyone could move, there was a deep booming as the door was knocked heavily three times.

There was a screech as the door was forcibly pulled back.

Callen grabbed Sam by the arm and pushed him towards Kensi and Deeks, "Stay quiet." He hissed as he moved to block them from the view of the group of people who entered.

There were five people in total who stood out from the rest of the group.

The five people were flanked by ten others who took protective positions guarding all entry and exit points. Of the five people in the center, there were two standing either side of an older looking man in the middle.

Garrison stood up and gave a short bow. "Mikhail, it is an honor to have you here." He said, addressing the man in the middle.

"Garrison, you have dragged me out here. Barely has the sun gone down and I have been up all day listening to reports sent to me about your…" Mikhail stopped and a small smirk appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Your attempt to oust me and The Clan using your hybrid here." He shot Callen a look of disgust and Callen found himself looking ashamed, but determinedly, not moving from his spot where he was protecting his friends.

"My lord… I would never…" Garrison started to backtrack.

" ** _DO NOT INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE AND TELL ME I AM WRONG!_** " Mikhail yelled, his voice reverberating around the room.

Garrison shrank back.

"My source of your betrayal is impeccable, _she_ is never wrong." Mikhail said. "In my three hundred and seventy two years, no one has ever managed to oust me as Clan Leader."

"Bolsheviks." Garrison snapped at him.

The four men either side of Mikhail hissed in anger at his remark.

"You presume too much Garrison." Mikhail warned, "You are still young; if you challenge me or harm these humans, we will rip you limb from limb."

"You are weak Mikhail Romanov, I am not the only one who thinks that. You have footholds in the government, you allow the humans to live without knowing that we control everything..."

"And you talk too much." The man to the left snapped shooting a sidelong glance to the humans at the back of the room.

"What them? That's my lunch." Garrison scoffed, "Not all of us are new age namby pamby hippies."

Callen moved to protect his team as Mikhail growled low in his throat, "The treaty between humans and The Clans has been in place for over two hundred years. You broke the rules and you will be punished for it."

Garrison laughed, "You didn't punish me before, when the hybrids were born."

"We wept for you at the loss of your young one, the girl we knew about; as such, we showed you mercy and did not punish you for breaking our law and creating a hybrid with a human. Until this one was fifteen, we were unaware of his existence, and at that time assumed you were unaware of him as well." Mikhail looked over at Callen, "Come here boy." he said gesturing with a long bony finger in his direction.

* * *

Sam moved less than an inch, as if to protect him from the newcomers. Both Callen and Mikhail smiled at the brave, but fruitless gesture, as if to appease the human, Mikhail added, "You will not be harmed Callen."

Sam could not relax, but he did step back and relaxed his grip on the back of Callen's shirt, allowing him to move forward.

"Sire." Callen said with reverence.

"I know what you are Callen, I know that you broke our rule and told a human about you."

Callen went to kneel in supplication, prepared to die if he had to to protect them. However, Mikhail shook his head, "Come, sit with me boy." He said, gesturing to a pair of chairs in the corner. Mikhail turned to the two men on his left, "Hold the traitor," he ordered and they moved to stand either side of Garrison, not allowing him to move.

Mikhail looked at the daywalker in front of him. "You are unique among our kind, unique amongst your own kind as well." He told Callen as an aide put two crystal goblets of blood down in front of them.

Mikhail lifted his and took as sip as Callen glanced at him warily. "Do not be afraid; yours is from your own source." He reassured him. "It is good, to have freely donated blood that is tested and free from impurities. I remember a long time ago when we did not have such luxuries. They were barbaric times." He sighed as he handed Callen the glass.

"You know hybrids have a reputation of being unstable, bloodthirsty, even amongst our kind, you and your sister seem to be an exception to that rule... Please, it is alright to drink." Mikhail urged gesturing to the glass next to Callen's hand.

Callen eyed the liquid, he could smell it and he was hungry; to refuse to drink when offered by a Clan leader was an offense, but to drink in front of the others, for them to see how weak he really was? Of course Sam and Hetty had seen him drink before, but Kensi and Deeks? How would this affect them?

Mikhail watched, and listened as the thoughts tumbled through Callen's head. He waited as he felt the urge to drink, go through him like an electric shock.

His hand shaking, Callen lifted the glass and took a tentative sip, his tongue slipping between his lips to lick the stray drop of blood left on there. His eyes closed for a second as he savored the taste, then he took a larger sip.

"Careful." Mikhail admonished him, "I hear it has been a while since you've had some good quality blood."

Callen nodded, "I take what I need, no more. I won't feed from humans."

Mikhail nodded, "That is good; we need to co-exist not fight them. That is the way The Clans want it. We want to live in peace with them not rule them. I know of the sacrifices you have made for them, the dangers you have put yourself in."

Callen waited, as Mikhail continued, "Did you not think twice when you entered that submersible?"

Callen shrugged, "That was a while ago, it was my job."

"You can die Callen, water… your sister drowned; you are weaker in water. You stayed with Sam when you could have gotten out, you were fast enough to have killed everyone on that submarine and could have allowed it to continue on to its destination."

"No!" Callen gasped, "People would have been killed, Sam would have died, he couldn't move as fast as I could."

"Did he know that you nearly died from the journey from the submersible to the surface, that you needed the three days he took to reunite with his family to come back from the brink of death, that the salt in the water sucked the energy from you? Vampires have 'issues' with salt water and running water. It drains the energy and the ocean is even worse. You put your life on the line for humans."

Callen looked over at Sam, who was staring in horror at the thought of nearly losing his brother, that Callen had stayed with him even though he had known that even in their escape it could have killed him.

"It's my job." Callen said blandly.

Mikhail shook his head, "No… it is not, it is who you are. She was right, you know, when she said you had potential."

"Who?" Callen asked.

Mikhail smiled, "The Overseer, she has been watching Clan members with the potential to be great ones for a very long time."

Callen shook his head, "I am not a Clan member," He said his eyes downcast, "I am an outcast."

Mikhail laid a cold, bony hand on Callen's arm, "You are a Clan member, you always have been a part of this Clan, however you were not formally presented to The Clan. You were hidden from us, although we knew about you once you were found and protected you as much as we could."


	7. Chapter 7

Callen looked confused, "You were protecting me?" He bit back a derisive laugh that threatened to explode from him, "I didn't feel very protected growing up." He had to admit.

"As a hybrid, you would have appeared as a normal mortal, until you hit puberty and started to change. Investigations had uncovered that your mother had had a child with Garrison, we found Amelia too late, the hunters found her and she was killed. For this we wept." Mikhail said sadly. "As you know, Vampire children are very rare; if we find one who is like your sister, good and pure of heart, they are to be nurtured and cherished. All too often hybrids are wild and bloodthirsty and need to be dealt with."

Callen took a deep breath as the Clan rulers words washed over him.

"Are you going to deal with me?" He asked, shooting a worried look at the others who had been mostly ignored by the vampires surrounding them. He was worried about a few who had been looking at them like they were food and he did not want to leave them without protection.

* * *

Sam and the team, for their part were worried too.

Deeks because his now pregnant wife was being eyed up by one of the men, leaning languidly against the wall, as disinterested as he seemed on the outside, Deeks' gut told him he was getting more and more fixated on his wife as time went on.

Hetty had not moved at all; a few times she had looked over at Mikhail interrogating her agent, but she had shown no sign of tension the whole time since the clutch of vampires had entered.

Sam however was worried; Callen had always put himself in the firing line, believing himself to be not as important as Sam.

However to him that was not true.

Callen was an integral part of his life and his family's life. He was his partner and brother and he could not live with himself if these things decided to kill him just because he was born half vampire and half human.

Callen could no more have decided that, than Sam could have decided on being born a man.

It was so unfair.

Sam took a step toward the old man who had not taken his eyes off Callen during their whole conversation.

"You do not need to worry Agent Sam Hanna. I wish no harm to come to the young one." Mikhail said without turning his head.

"You said you were his clan?" Sam asked, "So where were you? Why has he spent all his life alone?"

Mikhail smirked slightly and for an instant, Sam was taken aback at how much Mikhail looked like an ancient version of Callen.

* * *

"He has not spent all his life alone." Mikhail said, turning his head to look at Sam, "The overseer was there to protect, guide and nurture him."

Both Callen and Sam looked confused, "Overseer?" Sam asked.

Hetty stood and took a few steps towards Sam.

"Me." She admitted.

"You're The Overseer?" Both Callen and Sam asked in unison causing a small smile to appear on Hetty's face.

She nodded, "Myself, Duke and a few others are tasked with finding hybrids and helping them to come to terms with what they are and find them a place in society where they can be productive and useful."

"Sullivan? Stevens? Hunter?" Callen asked.

Hetty nodded, "All hybrids." She admitted, "That was why you didn't trust Hunter or Steven's when you met them. Hybrids have problems in the presence of another of their kind. It can be as small as a mutual distrust to all out hatred, your emotions are hard to keep in check with there is another of your kind around."

For a moment Callen thought back, remembering how he had instantly disliked Lauren Hunter and how he had been off his game and temperamental when Grace Stevens had been involved with the team.

"That's why there were no others around when you came to live with me and begin your training." She told him.

"I thought..." Callen was reluctant to say that, having heard she had fostered other children but he had been kept away from them that he had thought that she thought he was truly a monster.

Hetty cocked her head slightly to one side, "Not at all Mr. Callen, I have never thought of you as a monster. I have told you before, the monsters are the men you deal with and put in jail on a day to day basis, they are the true monsters. You are someone with a few extra chromosomes and some extraordinary abilities. That is all."

He looked surprised for a second, as if she had been reading his thoughts, but ducked his head as he shook it slightly. There was no way she could do that, was there?

Hetty stepped past Sam as one of Mikhail's bodyguards moved Hetty's chair closer for her to sit on and giving her a small bow of respect moved away so she could sit back down.

* * *

There was one question that had been running through Callen's mind ever since the clan showed up, and it wasn't the one that Sam had asked and as yet had remained unanswered.

"Sire?" Callen started and waited till Mikhail nodded, "I don't know all of the clan rules, but the one rule I do know is that if humans know about us, we are to kill them. Please, is there anything I can do to save my team…my…family?" He begged.

Mikhail looked angry, as did Hetty, and Callen got instantly worried.

"I will die before I let you harm them." he snarled with a bravado he didn't exactly feel at that moment.

"Who taught you that humans must die if they know about us?" Mikhail growled. At the tone of his voice, all the other vampires in the room bristled and the humans grew nervous.

"I…my…Garrison, he told me. It was in the training he gave me while I was living with him." Callen replied his eyes not leaving the bare floor by his feet.

Mikhail glared at Garrison, "I know of your subversive activities; because of your relationship to me, I have turned a blind eye. You have been mostly an annoyance at most Garrison Romanov. But this is you going too far. You pulled Gregori Callen into this, using the feud between his family and the Comescu's to your advantage and then years later seduced his great great niece so that you could carry on your plan to subvert me. You knew how special the Callen bloodline was when you noted that Gregori Callen was able to walk in the daylight without damage."

Callen looked shocked at that, just exactly how old was his father?

"We tried to dissuade Clara Callen from meeting you, but she was a very strong willed human. She had no idea about her relative's conversion at your hand, only that she was in Romania to track down a lead with the assistance of the CIA to investigate the deaths of American citizens by organized crime gangs. You were the one who showed the Comescu's the target, you kept Clara Callen off their radar until she no longer had a purpose, you waited until your children were born and then you told her didn't you? You told her what you were and what your children were and she ran to protect them. You were the one who told the Comescu's that she was on the beach that day weren't you!" Mikhail's voice had got louder and louder until he was shouting, Callen looked at his father distraught.

He did not like his father, that was no secret and he certainly did not trust him, but to find out how and why he had been conceived and how his father had burned his mother to the Comescu's leaving himself and his sister to the mercy of strangers cut him to the core.

"It wasn't my fault she called for help." Garrison grumbled, "She was going to die anyway, I had planned to kill her as soon as she had finished nursing my son. But she caught me killing for food and watched and learned what I was. She was nothing more than a vessel to bare me children."

Callen curled his hands into fists and shook, wanting nothing more than to pummel the man who had sired him.

"You broke our laws, you abused your position in this clan and your relationship to me, brother." Mikhail snarled, " Now, you kidnap federal agents, people of note, thinking I can let this go? I cannot let this go unpunished. To compound your crimes you took The Overseer, presumably to kill her as well?"

"That was not my intention." Garrison argued. "I needed to get the boy to come to me, and want to stay of his own free will."

"I would never have joined you." Callen snapped.

"To save them?" Garrison asked.

Callen had to admit, to save them he would have joined Garrison for a while, but he would never have fought the clan.

"I would have died to save them but I would have never fought The Clan. You are wrong Garrison, the old ways are wrong. It is good that some people are kind enough to donate for us, but they are not food and they should not be killed like animals." Callen said sadly, "The Clans are looking into artificial blood which…"

" ** _Artificial blood!_** " Garrison yelled, "That is unacceptable, we were cursed by God to be who we are. We are superior and those humans are nothing more than food."

" _ **ENOUGH!**_ " Mikhail snapped, "Garrison Romanov, you are hereby charged with treason against the clans. Your sentence is **DEATH**. You are to be taken to the execution grounds, staked and left till the sun bleaches the marrow of your bones. May Hell have mercy on your soul."

Garrison howled in outrage, this was not how it was meant to be; he should have been the one giving orders, how could the clan be so blind?

Callen stood silently as Garrison was dragged struggling from the room, screaming obscenities and blaming his son for not fighting for his cause.

Sam moved to stand beside his partner and laid a hand on his shoulder, "G, don't listen to him. You are not responsible for all of this. We are here for you, we are your family."

Callen's head lowered as he listened to Sam's words and prayed they were true.


	8. Chapter 8

Mikhail watched with a heavy heart as his brother was taken away, then he looked over to his nephew.

"Callen, you do not have to stay here with these mortals. You may join the Clan, we have need of your skills." He offered.

Callen took a step towards Kensi and Deeks, not really wanting to stay with Mikhail, as he had never been there for him in the past, but only seemed to want him now because he was useful, then he saw Deeks move as if to protect Kensi from him, and he stopped.

"It's your decision." Callen said, turning to Deeks and Kensi, "Can you work with me, knowing what I am?"

Sam glared at the two junior agents as Deeks took a step forward to protect his wife.

"Can I trust you?" He asked, "Is there absolutely no way you'll ever hurt my wife or child?"

"None at all." Callen replied honestly, "I would kill myself first."

"I wish I could believe it." Deeks said under his breath, not realizing that Callen could still hear him.

"I would never hurt any of you." Callen said, his voice cracking slightly.

"What if you get hungry?" Kensi asked, worried for her unborn child.

Callen took a step away and turned from them, "I'm always hungry, I haven't killed anyone…not since…" He looked out over the skyline that he could see from the window in front of him. He had never wanted to revisit that part of his life and never had he intended to share it with anyone.

"But you have killed?" Deeks asked.

Callen turned back to look at the detective, the man he had considered a friend.

"Once, I did a bad thing for the right reasons, can you tell me you have never done anything like that?" He asked.

Deeks gulped and looked guilty, he had done something exactly like that…Boyle…he had killed him for the greater good.

"I have." Deeks answered honestly, "But I was never addicted, the blood thing…it's like an addiction…right?"

Callen shrugged and sighed, he supposed it was a bit like an addiction, but it was also needed to sustain his life, like food and water. It was not exactly something he could give up and avoid if he wanted to live.

"Not quite Mr. Deeks." Hetty said, interjecting on Callen's quiet musing. "Mr Callen needs a regular supply of blood, the same as you need to buy food to eat. Like you he goes to a store and buys his blood. Most of his intake is animal blood, although it does not have the same nutritional value as human blood, it just about sustains his life. It would be like you existing entirely on Protein Shakes for your survival forever." She explained.

"Damn, that's harsh." Deeks replied, and smiled apologetically over at Callen.

Callen shrugged, even he had never thought of it that way. It was just something he had to do.

It was Kensi who stood then and walked up to the group, one hand subconsciously over her stomach where her little one was growing. "So pig's blood or cow or what?" she asked.

"Never pig, I have to share a car with Sam, I wouldn't do that to him." Callen admitted.

"You drink it in the car with Sam?!" Kensi gasped, "You knew?!" She exclaimed turning to Sam.

Sam nodded, "I have since he was shot. It hasn't changed our friendship and I trust him with my family. Hell, vampire or not, he is my family and l am proud to call him brother."

Callen smiled, as did Mikhail and a few others in the room.

* * *

Mikhail made a small gesture and Hetty walked over to him as he whispered a question at her.

She looked over at the team. "I think…yes." she replied to the Elder Clan Leader.

"Yes?" Callen asked having heard the question.

Hetty smiled, "Yes Mr. Callen."

"Yes what?" The others asked in chorus.

Hetty straightened her top as she turned to the team. "The Clan have been looking for a team, one that was not made up entirely from Clan members, but was a mixture of Vampires and Humans, to work in harmony and keep the peace between our two cultures. It had been a test when we accepted Mr. Callen as a hybrid back into the clan. I am afraid as we had told you hybrids do not easily work with others of their own kind and we were not sure about how Mr. Callen would…integrate." She murmured an apology under her breath so low that only The Clan and Callen caught it.

He nodded and she continued.

"As I found each of you for this team, I was looking to build something greater, something more steadfast. I think now, we may have found it, a group of people able to liaise between the Clans and Humans and have the respect of both."

* * *

While Hetty had been talking, Callen had moved over to Mikhail and quietly asked him something. Mikhail had for a moment looked sad and nodded, then he turned his attention back to what Hetty was saying and he interjected.

"You will answer to me, you will have clearance above the level of the directors of every agency and those directors will answer to you." Mikhail told them and Deeks grinned at that.

"However, that power is only to be used in a time of great crisis. Until then you will work as regular NCIS Agents, but with a few extra weapons and training which I am sure Mr. Callen will be happy to provide." Hetty told them.

Callen nodded dumbly, he was unsure how he would be able to teach them to prepare themselves against a full Vampire, but it would be good if they had something in their arsenal to protect themselves, if they had to come up against someone like him, or God forbid, him.

The team looked at each other, Sam was smiling; this was a good thing. Deeks and Kensi still had a small amount of doubt each, but trust in their team leader won through and they both nodded in agreement and Hetty stood proudly looking at her team.

"Mikhail, it looks like they are in agreement. I would suggest we take a few months to train them, and then you may see how they have fared."

Mikhail turned to his nephew, "Is this what you want?" He asked again.

"They are my team, my family." Callen admitted, "They know about me, about all this now. They need to be taught to defend themselves. We can do this." He reiterated.

Mikhail nodded in agreement, "It is settled."

He stood, and both Callen and Hetty gave a short bow in deference to him and watched as the entire entourage left the building.

* * *

Callen turned to find Deeks gently holding Kensi, whispering in her ear. He smiled as he listened to the words of love and reassurance from the detective to his wife concerning both her and their unborn child. Then, turning his attention to Sam he nodded and his partner crossed the room.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Sam asked quietly.

"I hope so Sam." Callen replied honestly. "I'm not sure how it will affect us in the long run, but at least they haven't chased me down with pitchforks." Callen gave a small grin.

Deeks smiled mischievously as he overheard that. "Pitchforks? Do we get to chase you around the boatshed with them." He laughed.

In less than a blink of an eye Callen had shifted from his spot on the other end of the room, to standing directly behind Deeks and gently lay a hand on his shoulder.

Deeks yelped and Callen laughed, "Only if you can catch me Deeks." he replied.

Kensi smiled at the interplay between them.

"This might be fun." She remarked.

"No training for you till the baby is born." Callen insisted, "You can watch but that's it."

Kensi pouted and opened her mouth to protest only to see her husband, Sam and Callen all standing side by side in agreement.

She closed her mouth and looked down at her still flat stomach, "You had better hurry up and get here baby, your daddy and your uncles are going to gang up on me till you do."

All three men smiled, Callen's the widest of all. They had accepted him. Training was going to be fun and life would be different from now on, but he had a team and his family.


End file.
